But wait ... Rubio wants property taxes, PIP

House Speaker Marco Rubio has sent a letter to Gov. Crist asking him to use his "constitutional authority" to require the Legislature to take up property taxes before the end of October and add PIP to the special session call.

Also, see the jump for a letter from Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, the lead PIP negotiator, in which she blames the Senate's "hardline" approach. And a statement from Senate President Ken Pruitt.

Dear Members:

The call for Special Session was released at 3 PM today, and m any of you have noticed by now that PIP is not in it. I feel you need to know the facts behind this occurrence. As many of you know, we worked tirelessly through the summer to reach a compromise with the Senate. Many of you were generous with your thoughts and ideas , and I want to thank you for your invaluable input. We did not achieve all of the reforms we wanted, but in the end, I believe we produced a great product that goes a long way to maintain a mandatory no-fault system that substantially reduces the fraud and abuse that was so prevalent under the current system.

I was informed on Thursday that the Senate will not add PIP to the call. At this point, our only chance to have it added is to either poll the members or get the Governor to add it. I have contacted the Governor and am waiting for a response. Please know that the House is ready to go on this issue . We intend to workshop the bill on Tuesday so that we can address any major concerns.

Maintaining a no-fault system is imperative to reduce the number of lawsuits that will occur due to accidents. As m any of you know, I do not g ive up easily and will work with you until the end of Special Session to see this issue through. However, strong forces are working against PIP, and as it stands today, PIP will sunset , and due to Senate's hardline position, there is litt l e hope for re-enactment.

I am available for any questions. You can always reach me on my cell. I wish I had better news, and I know you share my disappointment.

UPDATE: Pruitt just sent out a statement:

“Senator Posey has done a masterful job to forge an agreement with Representative Bogdanoff on PIP, and the Senate thanks him for his leadership on the issue. It is in my judgment, given the current budget shortfalls and the serious fiscal challenges in the forecast, that the most prudent action on the part of this Senate would be to focus on our constitutional duty to have a balanced budget."

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